Headwaters State Forest closer to completion

State protects 3,200 acres in Transylvania County

This May photograph shows the Lower Falls along the South Prong of Glady Fork. Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy has been working in partnership with The Conservation Fund and N.C. Forest Service to protect 8,000 acres of working forest land in Transylvania County owned by former U.S. Rep. Charles Taylor. The property is one of the largest remaining privately owned tracts in
Western North Carolina.

Published: Tuesday, February 4, 2014 at 10:00 a.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, February 4, 2014 at 8:18 a.m.

Thanks to a $3 million federal grant, the N.C. Forest Service and its conservation partners have now protected more than 40 percent of a fledgling 8,000-acre Headwaters State Forest in southern Transylvania County.

On Tuesday, state forestry officials announced they acquired 3,217 acres in 2013 formerly owned by U.S. Rep. Charles Taylor in the East Fork headwaters of the French Broad. The Taylor property is the largest undeveloped tract of private land in Western North Carolina.

“This is a project that in 2010 was less than 800 acres, and now we’re over 3,000, so that’s pretty huge,” said Peter Barr, trails and outreach coordinator for the Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy, a local partner in the Headwaters acquisition.

The rugged property along the Blue Ridge Escarpment boasts roughly 25 waterfalls — including 100-foot-plus Hidden Falls — and supports 60 miles of high-quality streams, nine rare mountain bogs and habitat for several endangered or uncommon plants and animals.

The most recent state purchase, of 711 acres in December, was made possible by a grant from the U.S. Forest Service’s Forest Legacy Program, which is funded by the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund.

U.S. Sens. Richard Burr and Kay Hagan, along with Congressman Mark Meadows, backed funding for Forest Legacy and the LWCF in 2013, which were threatened by sequestration and shrinking appropriations.

Combined with three other state acquisitions last year, the state purchased a total of 2,439 acres of the future Headwaters State Forest, a sprawling landscape of rock outcrops, wooded coves and creek bottoms.

Another 786-acre tract secured by The Conservation Fund in 2010 was transferred to the N.C. Forest Service in December, minus eight acres that was deeded to South Carolina on Sassafras Mountain, the Palmetto State’s highest peak at 3,560 feet.

“This is a significant step forward for the East Fork headwaters,” said Justin Boner, state real estate director for The Conservation Fund, which brokered the deal with the Taylor family. “In less than a year, more than a third of the landscape has been conserved.”

When fully acquired, the East Fork tract will complete a chain of publicly owned lands covering 100,000 acres, stretching from DuPont State Recreational Forest to the Jocassee Gorges. That linkage will “create wildlife corridors for bear, deer and various bird species,” said N.C. Agricultural Commissioner Steve Troxler.

Fifty miles of logging roads will provide access for hunters, hikers, bikers, anglers and equestrians. Public access to the forest’s interior won’t be allowed until the remaining 4,780 acres is purchased and a management plan is completed. That could take four to five years, said Assistant Regional Forester Michael Cheek.

“Currently, people can walk the ridgeline along the Foothills Trail and there are few opportunities close to the road,” said Cheek. One of those is East Fork Falls, located off East Fork Road near Rosman. It was included in the 711-acre purchase finalized in December, he said.

The N.C. Forest Service is poised to gain another 687 acres in the Jane Cantrell Creek watershed within the next three or four months, Cheek said, using a $2.75 million grant awarded by the N.C. Clean Water Management Trust Fund in mid-December. That purchase may encompass one of the property’s most scenic cascades, Lower Falls.

“It’s a 50- or 60-foot waterfall that goes down to a nice pool,” Cheek said. “It’s going to be really close, depending on the survey, but hopefully we’re going to acquire that waterfall this go-around.”

<p>Thanks to a $3 million federal grant, the N.C. Forest Service and its conservation partners have now protected more than 40 percent of a fledgling 8,000-acre Headwaters State Forest in southern Transylvania County.</p><p>On Tuesday, state forestry officials announced they acquired 3,217 acres in 2013 formerly owned by U.S. Rep. Charles Taylor in the East Fork headwaters of the French Broad. The Taylor property is the largest undeveloped tract of private land in Western North Carolina.</p><p>“This is a project that in 2010 was less than 800 acres, and now we're over 3,000, so that's pretty huge,” said Peter Barr, trails and outreach coordinator for the Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy, a local partner in the Headwaters acquisition.</p><p>The rugged property along the Blue Ridge Escarpment boasts roughly 25 waterfalls — including 100-foot-plus Hidden Falls — and supports 60 miles of high-quality streams, nine rare mountain bogs and habitat for several endangered or uncommon plants and animals. </p><p>The most recent state purchase, of 711 acres in December, was made possible by a grant from the U.S. Forest Service's Forest Legacy Program, which is funded by the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund. </p><p>U.S. Sens. Richard Burr and Kay Hagan, along with Congressman Mark Meadows, backed funding for Forest Legacy and the LWCF in 2013, which were threatened by sequestration and shrinking appropriations.</p><p>Combined with three other state acquisitions last year, the state purchased a total of 2,439 acres of the future Headwaters State Forest, a sprawling landscape of rock outcrops, wooded coves and creek bottoms.</p><p>Another 786-acre tract secured by The Conservation Fund in 2010 was transferred to the N.C. Forest Service in December, minus eight acres that was deeded to South Carolina on Sassafras Mountain, the Palmetto State's highest peak at 3,560 feet. </p><p>“This is a significant step forward for the East Fork headwaters,” said Justin Boner, state real estate director for The Conservation Fund, which brokered the deal with the Taylor family. “In less than a year, more than a third of the landscape has been conserved.”</p><p>When fully acquired, the East Fork tract will complete a chain of publicly owned lands covering 100,000 acres, stretching from DuPont State Recreational Forest to the Jocassee Gorges. That linkage will “create wildlife corridors for bear, deer and various bird species,” said N.C. Agricultural Commissioner Steve Troxler.</p><p>Fifty miles of logging roads will provide access for hunters, hikers, bikers, anglers and equestrians. Public access to the forest's interior won't be allowed until the remaining 4,780 acres is purchased and a management plan is completed. That could take four to five years, said Assistant Regional Forester Michael Cheek. </p><p>“Currently, people can walk the ridgeline along the Foothills Trail and there are few opportunities close to the road,” said Cheek. One of those is East Fork Falls, located off East Fork Road near Rosman. It was included in the 711-acre purchase finalized in December, he said.</p><p>The N.C. Forest Service is poised to gain another 687 acres in the Jane Cantrell Creek watershed within the next three or four months, Cheek said, using a $2.75 million grant awarded by the N.C. Clean Water Management Trust Fund in mid-December. That purchase may encompass one of the property's most scenic cascades, Lower Falls. </p><p>“It's a 50- or 60-foot waterfall that goes down to a nice pool,” Cheek said. “It's going to be really close, depending on the survey, but hopefully we're going to acquire that waterfall this go-around.”</p><p>Reach Axtell at 828-694-7860 or than.axtell@blueridgenow.com.</p>